This disclosure relates generally to ordered sets of operation statements in a system, more particular to finding common sequences of statements from the sets.
Computer applications generally contain many lines of code creating instructions or statements to perform a function of the computer application. Each sequence of statements may be contained in a set, such as a file or script, which when combined with other sets make up the computer application. Many statements repeat themselves throughout the sets. For instance, software testers often create test scripts to test different functions of an application under test. A test script generally includes statements such as a step-by-step process to invoke specific functions of the application and verify that the functions correctly perform the intended tasks. For example, test scripts for a Web application being tested may include a common sequence of steps for logging on to a Web site that include entering an ID and a password, and clicking on a “Login” button. Software testers may label such subroutines of steps with keywords to uniquely identify them and facilitate the maintenance of the test scripts.